


Instinctual Behaviors

by In_memory_of_sheep



Category: One Piece
Genre: Comedy, Dinosaur facts boys, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25983346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_memory_of_sheep/pseuds/In_memory_of_sheep
Summary: Drake begins to lose control of his devil fruit ability, and begins to display reptile behaviors. Coby is unfortunately in the position of receiving most of his boyfriend’s... displays of feral acts.
Relationships: Coby/X Drake
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	Instinctual Behaviors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TricksterMel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterMel/gifts).



It wasn’t unusual for Drake to sleep in Coby’s bed with the other man.  
Both men had been through grueling trials and experiences, both in and out of their professions. Their normal lives weren’t untouchable from the effects and horrors of war, and sometimes those terrors made it hard to continue life without some form of solace, and for Drake that solace was the smaller marine breathing softly beside him in the dead of night. He hadn’t originally intended to seek out the man for comfort; his original intentions were to make sure that Coby was getting sufficient rest, if any rest at all. There was rarely ever a night where Drake would lightly open the man’s door and find him in bed. If Coby was ever in bed, he’d surely be reading a report or filing forms from his mattress. Drake would always prod the man to sleep, make sure he was properly blanketed before he’d leave (there had been nights where Drake would double-check Coby’s room and find he’d slipped out of bed to continue working. He’d never get angry at the small marine, he’d just properly tuck the man back into bed to sleep.)  
He’d resorted to using “force” to make sure Coby would rest after he found him shivering in a pool of sweat at his desk. Drake knew Coby wasn’t innocent when it came to his experiences, but he still couldn’t bear the sight of him shaking like a leaf in his arms, talking about living through the horrors of Alvida’s ship. Talking about dying alone on Alvida’s ship. He had stayed with Coby the entire night, eventually falling asleep long after the smaller man had gone into slumber.  
That night had eventually turned into another night, and then another, and then the nights became less sporadic and followed one after the other. Drake found the little marine becoming his little marine, and even when he’d quietly creak open the door to see Coby already asleep, he’d still carefully slide into the large empty spot that would be left for him. Sometimes Coby wouldn’t be the one in need on those painful nights, sometimes Drake would wake up in terror to feel deft fingers combing through his hair to ease him into a calm. Sometimes he’d already be awake, and he’d stare at Coby’s light breaths as he slept, letting the sight of the small frame beside him comfort him back into sleep.  
This wasn’t unusual, their mutual agreement to take care of one another, to care for one another whether it be day or night.

What was unusual though, was for Coby to be waken up by the feeling of something scratching at his back. At first he figured it was just his back itching, so he haphazardly threw a heavy arm behind him to scratch his shoulder blades before snuggling back into the blankets to sleep, the warmth of Drake behind him lulling him back into slumber. The second time he felt the light scratching, he thought it might be Drake trying to wake him up for the morning, and sleepily giggled as he rolled over to snuggle into the devil fruit-user’s chest. “It’s not time to get up yet, silly. It’s still dark out.” At the lack of response, Coby snorted and snuggled deeper into Drake’s chest, amused at Drake’s snoring. He must have realized he was wrong and went back to sleep, how cute. However, when Coby felt rough scratching on his chest, his eyes snapped open to look at Drake.  
Drake’s eyes were still closed, but Coby could see his eyelashes fluttering in deep sleep as he vividly dreamed. He blinked in shock as he watched Drake wiggle his wrists rapidly and drag his nails across his chest, but immediately shifted his face to hold in laughter as the noises Drake was making reached his ears.  
As Coby listened more intently, he realized that Drake wasn’t snoring, but in fact growling in his sleep. He occasionally huffed and rumbled like an engine, slightly baring his teeth as he continued to shuffle his hands and feet back and forth like he was paddling in his sleep. Coby was wheezing as he tried to contain his laughter, and he nearly burst out howling when Drake let out a drowsy roar, no doubt dreaming about his transformation.  
Coby’s laughter quickly died down as Drake’s nails began to shift into claws, the scratching against his chest turning less than pleasant as the sound of scales scattering across Drake’s neck and his buzzing growls filled the room. He grasped Drake’s shoulder and shook the shifting man back and forth, hissing when one of the claws caught on his skin and left a trail of bright red in its wake.  
“Drake, Drake pssst—Drake!” The larger man let out a startled snarl as he snapped awake, scales flaring up as if he was a hissing cat. A singular pointed nail pricked Coby’s collarbone, drawing a droplet of blood that slowly slid down his chest. Coby hissed as he gently ran his fingers through locks of red hair, squinting through the sharp flare of pain to gently hush his panicked partner. “Hey,” slim fingers smoothed over the receding scales, “hey. You’re okay.”  
Drake blinked blearily as the final scale slipped back into his skin, and his hands softened into his usual calloused fingertips that rested on Coby’s chest. He lightly snapped his head down as he let out a dog-like snuffle, making Coby giggle enough to nearly forget the small injury on his clavicle until Drake’s eyes widened upon noticing it. “What,” he gently grazed his finger under the bone, “is that? Is that blood?”  
Coby rolled over to grab a tissue, the pinprick glinting in the moonlight. “Yeah, you got me a little bit. Normally people leave hickeys with their mouths, y’know,” he said with a soft snicker. Drake’s face twisted into confusion that was visible even in the darkness, rubbing Coby’s shoulder as he inspected the small dot of blood carefully. “How did—How did I do that? I was asleep.” Coby chuckled as he laid back down, brushing his fingertips against Drake’s face to soothe him as he worried over Coby’s chest.  
“You just transformed a little, is all. No big de—”  
“I did what?!” Drake’s eyes widened as he grasped Coby’s shoulders and held him in place, donning a serious tone, “Coby, why didn’t you immediately tell me? I put you in a dangerous position, and I could have possibly killed you.”  
“I dunno, it was more like you were a dog. A very sleepy dog.”  
“Pink.” Coby flickered his eyes downwards as he muttered an apology, fiddling with his fingers as he stared at the large ‘X’ across Drake’s chest rather than his eyes. A position that was quickly changed as Drake gently guided Coby’s chin towards his face, staring into his eyes. “Coby, if I’m going to be a danger to you, I don’t think I should be sleeping—”  
“No!” Coby slapped his hands on Drake’s shoulders and pulled himself up to be nose to nose with the large man, “sleeping without you is going to be worse!”  
“Worse than if I accidentally kill you, because I dreamt of transforming?” Drake sighed against Coby’s lips as he felt the marine nod against his face. “I don’t want to hurt you, little marine.”  
“And I don’t want to be hurt by you, Drake. If you leave the bed, that’s a pain I’m going to have to _live_ with.”  
Drake let out a long exhale as he lowered Coby onto the bed, rolling himself beside him and pulling the smaller man into his chest. “You win this one, little marine,” he felt Coby’s smile against his tattoo, “but if I end up hurting you again we’re changing our sleeping arrangements to keep you safe.”  
Coby nuzzled deeper into Drake’s skin, “I’ll save you before then. So you don’t have to save me.”  
Drake’s eyes remained open as he watched his lover drift off to sleep, safe in his embrace. Hopefully, it stayed that way.

“Just… just watch.”  
Coby blinked between Helmeppo and Drake, who was stoically sharpening his swords as he sat beneath the shade of a sturdy tree with a bowl of what appeared to be walnuts beside him. “He’s just sharpening his swords.” Helmeppo nodded frantically, as if the situation at hand was clearly baffling. “That’s a normal thing he does, and not a very exciting one. Although,” his gaze unfocused as his attention drifted, “he does look pretty good right now…”  
Helmeppo laid a light slap on the back of Coby’s head, eliciting a yelp from the man. “He’s not doing it right now, he pauses in between to eat—Watch how this fucker eats!”  
Coby narrowed his eyes at his friend suspiciously; “are you just trying to make me horny or something?”  
“No! No, just—” Helmeppo fumbled for words, his brow furrowing from behind his visor as he tried to explain his antics. He waved his hands in front of him as he finally formulated a response, hesitantly opening his mouth to Coby. “How… How do dinosaurs eat? Like how does Drake’s dinosaur eat, because I feel it would explain things a little bit.”  
Coby raised an eyebrow as he tried to connect the dots that were being presented to him. “You mean an Allosaurus?” Helmeppo nodded his head, motioning for Coby to continue speaking. Coby’s lips pulled into a soft smile as he began to recite facts that Drake had excitedly told him when Coby asked about Drake’s alter form, Drake apparently harboring a deep love for prehistoric reptiles. “Allosauruses weren’t actually pure carnivores, and were thought to be scavengers too! See, a pure carnivore-”  
“Yeah yeah, I wanna know _how_ he eats though, not _what_ he eats,” Helmeppo groaned, tapping his foot impatiently and whipping his head back and forth between Coby and their superior. He bit his lip nervously, like he was afraid he’d miss Drake do something even though he was only calmly continuing his previous ministrations.  
“Jeez, okay,” Coby huffed with slight indignance, “Allosauruses actually had a weaker bite than predators like lions and alligators, and their horns were too fragile to be used in combat or as tools; which is why scientists hypothesized that the dinosaurs would actually use their skull to cut through their prey—”  
Coby was cut off as Helmeppo harshly gripped his biceps and began to throttle him. “That’s it!!! That’s what he’s doing!!!”  
Coby glanced over in the devil fruit-user’s direction as Helmeppo continued to shake him to and fro, “He’s just sharpening—!”

  
Right as Coby uttered the first few words of his exclamation, Drake reached beside him and grabbed a handful of walnuts.

  
And slammed them into his forehead.

Helmeppo immediately dropped his grip on the younger marine, sending him stumbling into the dirt as he burst into a violent fit of howling laughter. Coby’s mouth was opened into a gaping ‘O’, almost believing that he had misinterpreted Drake’s actions due to Helmeppo’s insistent throttling. However not even a second later, Drake picked up another handful of nuts and smashed them against his head, letting the pieces of the snack fall into his mouth as Helmeppo keeled over snorting.  
Coby quickly rushed to Drake’s side, throwing his hand over the bowl before Drake could grab another handful. “Drake; Drake what are you—” Drake’s head swiveled to look at the lithe man standing over him, and the eyes that focused on him were a glowing yellow with thin slits that pierced through Coby. Ah, that explains it. He’s having weird transformation instinct again. “Drake—” Coby began to speak to the man as if they were undergoing their normal training routine, as if Drake’s mind wasn’t focused on being a predatory lizard. “—Drake, sir. We should really get back to training. I haven’t perfected armed combat and—” he snorted as Drake whipped out his tongue to absentmindedly lick the tip of his own nose, barely suppressing screeching laughter, “—andweneedyoutostopbeingalizard. Sir.” Coby was bursting at the seams as Drake tilted his head in mild interest, like Coby was a complete stranger to a newborn child.  
However, as Drake’s nails began to extend into knife-like instruments and his skin rippled with the imprints of scales, Coby immediately stopped laughing and dropped the formalities as he leaned towards the man-quickly-turning-reptile. “Hey, Allie,” he whispered, shielding Drake’s face from Helmeppo’s direction, “look at me. You’re slipping.”  
Drake blinked rapidly for a moment, his face contorting into a litany of emotions at once before he met Coby’s gaze with white eyes and dilated pupils. “Pink? What are you doing, you’re supposed—” Drake hastily pushed Coby away from him, shifting his vision elsewhere for a moment. “...You’re supposed to be sparring with your partner, captain.”  
Coby gently clicked his heels to in attention, slowly pulling his arm into a salute towards his superior. “Well, sir, you were… Losing yourself… For a moment, sir.” His explanation tapered off as he spoke, the last ‘sir’ barely uttered at a volume Drake could hear. Drake’s expression darkened, shame and disappointment crossing his gaze for a moment before turning back to the man in front of him.  
“Thank you, for… reassuring me, little marine.”  
A small grin pulled at the corner of Coby’s lips, “no problem, Allie.”  
“ _Allie_? Like Allosaurus? Man, I knew you guys were fucking dorks but—”  
Drake demonstrated the same technique used to demolish the walnuts on Helmeppo’s skull, causing Coby to rush both of them to the infirmary due to severe head injuries.

Coby tentatively ran his fingers through the fiery strands, letting the individual strands catch on his nails.  
_Thin._  
Dragging a single finger down the side of the larger man’s face, he gently ghosted the fingertip on his lips.  
_Rounded._  
The fingertip pressed gently against the bottom lip, sending a shudder through Coby at the plush feeling.  
_Thin again._  
“When did this start happening, exactly? Because it’s getting a little unpredictable and I’m guessing,” Coby removed his finger from Drake’s lips, attentive to how thin, slitted eyes intently watched the motion, “a little uncontrollable.” Drake blinked forcefully, squeezing his eyes shut as he willed his pupils to dilate into their normal human shape. _Rounded._ Drake sighed from his place atop Coby’s torso, lounging with the smaller marine on the rickety bed in their quarters.  
“I don’t know what’s happening, I have it under control on the battlefield and normal duties, I don’t know why my transformation is becoming uncontrollable off duty.” Drake pressed his forehead against Coby’s chest where he lay, the smaller man letting his chin rest on top of Drake’s head as he gently twirled a long strand of ginger in his fingers. “I’ve been in control of my powers for a significant amount of time, this shouldn’t be happening,” he gently pressed his lips into Coby’s sternum, “I shouldn’t be hurting others.”  
“It was literally a small prick, I’ve gotten worse injuries when attaching buttons back onto my shirts myself—”  
“And if it wasn’t?”

  
Coby groaned and wrapped his arms around Drake’s head, suffocating the man into his chest. “Drake, I know you aren’t going to hurt me,” he slapped his hand over Drake’s mouth when said man whipped his head up to rebuke, “because I trust you. Even if you do accidentally prick me again, or scratch me, or slam food into your head like a fucking Chad,” Drake grimaced, “you’ll never hurt me Drake, because I know you don’t mean to. And it won’t affect me.”  
Coby smiled as Drake looked at him wistfully. Although he knew Drake was right, that he had the ability to kill Coby in one swipe or snap of the jaws, he also knew Drake was more capable than that. He was the one that helped Coby become more capable in his own abilities, after all. Coby slid a palm under the devil fruit-user’s chin, lifting his head up to reach his own. “C’mon, give me a kiss, big guy,” he grinned, “I trust you not to bite me.”  
Lavender irises met blue ones as Drake stared deep into Coby’s, blue eyes that quickly shifted into yellow as the pupils inside of them slitted. A low growl slid from Drake’s lips as his mouth opened, revealing rows of dagger sharp teeth and a slithering tongue. Before Coby could react Drake shot forward, his tongue slapping against Coby’s chin before he lapped a slobbery line up the expanse of his little marine’s face.  
Those bright yellow orbs quickly snapped back into blue ones, and a bright red blaze flooded across Drake’s face. Coby’s eyes were scrunched shut as he wiped the trail of saliva from his face, flicking his wrist and sending a disgusting splatter across the sheets. “Well,” he strained, “you didn’t bite me, so I count it as a win.”

Coby was glad he learned so much about allosauruses from Drake, because it at least gave somewhat of an explanation to all of the baffling behaviors Drake began to exhibit.  
It didn’t really matter if he had an explanation or not though, there was no way to excuse how absolutely weird Drake’s actions were to both himself and… anyone who had the misfortune of seeing.  
“Well see he’s—you see most reptiles use friction against another surface to get rid of their old skin or scales, which is called molt—”  
“Well can he stop doing it? If not then at least do it somewhere that’s not my fucking bed?”  
Coby’s face hid from behind his hands, unable to look at a frankly disgusted Helmeppo, or the massive man who was currently rubbing his side against Helmeppo’s bedframe like he was scratching an insatiable itch. “I’ll—I’ll talk to him really quick,” he mumbled, carefully trodding over to Drake’s side so as to avoid the motions of his violent rubbing. “Hey big guy, wha—What are you—What the fuck is happening.” Coby’s flat tone barely managed to faze the influenced man, only receiving a hiss in turn for his query.  
“Just pull him away from it Coby! He’s starting to move near his lower regions and I don’t want to watch him hump my fucking bedframe!”  
“He’s not going to _hump it_ , he’s molting!”  
Helmeppo pulled at his hair in panic, “oh thanks, the dead dick skin makes me feel _so much_ better!” Coby groaned in frustration, hesitantly grabbing Drake’s shoulder to turn his body away from the bed frame. With the way those dark slits observed him, he was all to aware of the possibility of getting bitten, even if he did trust Drake. “Sir, you can’t be doing this in personal quarters other than your own, much less on a colleague’s personal proper—”  
Coby was quickly and harshly silenced by the weight of an entire grown man being thrown atop him; sprawled across the floor, the small marine wheezed as his superior began grinding his jaw into the man’s cheek. Apparently, Drake had immediately taken to the friction that his little marine had provided and had decided to switch his position to smearing himself against Coby. “Don’t have sex in my room, oh my God!”  
“Helmeppo, we aren’t—” Coby let out a deflated squeak as drake grinded his shoulder directly into his stomach. Coby may fantasize about those steel biceps every day, but having them violently shoved into his body was less than ideal. _“Help me…”_ he whimpered, his voice squeezed out of him like a dog toy being strangled to death. Helmeppo reached over to push Drake off, but proceeded to shoot back onto his ass when Drake lifted his head up with a threatening growl, his teeth glinting in the poor light of the bedroom lamp.  
“I’m trying to help you, idiot!” He quickly circled the snarling man to get behind him, “stop being territorial, I’m not trying to steal your man!” A hissing growl left the devil fruit-user, giving one last look over his shoulder before continuing to force Coby into the floor. “Well, technically I am, but—” he wrapped his hands around Coby’s ankles, “it’s for your own good!” In one swift pull, Coby slid out from underneath Drake into Helmeppo’s arms.  
The redhead let out a confused trill, searching for his prize as Coby caught his breath in Helmeppo’s embrace. “You’re welcome,” Helmeppo muttered, worriedly watching Coby gasp for air as he ran a gentle hand down his friend’s back. Looking up, he was met with Drake’s pointed glare, and although it was human it still carried a predatory spark. “You don’t get to be mad; you’re the one who wrung the life out of him.” Drake gave an indignant huff as he apologetically pet his little marine’s pink mane.

  
It didn’t end at reptilian behaviors either, Drake began progressively displaying more and more purely animal instincts.  
Licking Coby’s face, sniffing Coby when he got back from a mission (there were even times where Drake would try to analyze his scent when he got back from training with Helmeppo, and Coby had to swat at him and scold him like a jealous puppy), and even marking his territory with strategically placed scratches made with massive claws. A fairly noticeable trio of deep indents marked the side of Coby’s bedframe, and he hoped nobody would make him pay for the damages of it.

  
The weirdest behavior he began exhibiting was the headbutting though.

  
It started as just simple nods, Drake lightly flicking his chin up for a second before returning to his tasks. At first glance it looked like he might’ve been adjusting a loose strand of hair that fell in his face, and when he started directing the motion towards Coby it appeared as though he was greeting his partner. However when the motion became more pronounced, more forceful, Coby became confused as to what Drake was actually doing. He thought maybe he was just having a few twitches, or maybe he was trying to crack a bone in his neck. When Drake began to do it against Coby though, that’s when it became apparent that it was another transformation effect.  
Coby had been filling out another SWORD report, Drake standing behind him as he rubbed his shoulders to remove the tension held in them. “You should get to bed, it’s late.”  
“Hold on,” Coby absentmindedly murmured, patting Drake’s hand with his own free one, “I’m almost through with this form—OW!” Coby was immediately snapped out of his tired demeanor when a hard knock rattled through the back of his head. “Hey, I’m going! What the hell, that hurt!” He turned around to scold Drake but was met with the shocked and honestly a little bit devastated gaze from his partner. Coby faltered as he stroked the side of Drake’s face with his thumb; for someone who turned into a massive jurassic beast, Drake could certainly pull off a good puppy dog face.  
“I don’t know what just happened,” Drake stated, honest and shaken. Coby shook his head, ignoring the throbbing as he pressed a sweet kiss to Drake’s scar. “Me neither, but you’re right. Both of us need to sleep, we’re clearly in no shape to stay up.” The smaller man let himself be scooped up by his superior and gently placed into his bed, reassuring his partner that the twitches would subside with enough sleep.

  
They only got worse from then on. Drake wouldn’t always headbutt Coby painfully (although Coby did still get his fair share of head knocks), but he began to nudge him significantly more. Coby would be training with his superior and suddenly be knocked backwards as Drake forced his face into the crevice of Coby’s neck and _pushed_. Helmeppo scolded him for the seemingly “creative” disarming technique, but Coby knew that the nervous look his partner adorned was for more reasons than getting himself in trouble.  
He even began nudging Coby in public spaces, having to hide himself from his trainee group as Drake stuck his head under Coby’s chin and gave him a harsh nuzzle. When it got to the point that Drake would start doing it on missions, Coby finally tried to get to the bottom of the predicament.

  
“Reptiles don’t nuzzle each other, right? That’s a mammal thing?”  
“Reptiles do not show physical affection, no. In fact, most reptiles don’t show positive emotions at all.”  
“Aww,” Coby cooed, teasingly nudging Drake’s shoulder as he looked through an encyclopedia, “I’m special.” Drake sighed dryly, his tone not lacking humor, “that you are.” Lavender eyes scanned the pages in front of them before settling on the corner of one page, analyzing a faded image on the paper. “Could it have to do with something on your head? The nuzzling is a head movement. Maybe it’s not even nuzzling, it could be a dominance thing”  
“Possibly; allosauruses don’t have any prominent features on their skull, however.”  
“Yeah they do, look,” Drake leaned over his little marine’s shoulder to observe where his slender finger was gesturing, “they have horns above their eyes.” Drake nodded, considering the small appendages that Coby was pointing to, “yes, but they’re too fragile to be used for combat, much less dominance.” His little marine hummed in thought, skimming through more of the page as Drake closed his eyes in thought. He desperately wished that he could overcome this sudden influx of instinctual behavior.  
“Here, it says that they could be used in a similar fashion to birds, like for showing off and mating stuff!” Coby tilted his head as he looked back at the picture, “I don’t exactly know what they’re showing off though, the horns aren’t that big.”  
“Not everything is a dick measuring contest, Coby.”  
“Oh I know, I’ve seen your dick, there’s no beating that.” Drake snatched the encyclopedia from the snorting marine’s hands, ignoring the fierce blush spread across his face.  
Even after the research, Drake still couldn’t control his instincts or the strange nuzzling behavior. He nearly made his partner bite his own tongue off after slamming his head into his lower jaw, apologizing profusely even though Coby insisted the bleeding in his mouth was extremely minimal.

Drake was always ashamed after he regained control over himself, and even though Coby assured him that everyone makes mistakes every once in a while, his little marine could clearly see the turmoil Drake was putting himself through. On a particularly rough day when Drake had accidentally broke Helmeppo’s training swords in half with his claws, he refused to talk to Coby for the rest of the day, remaining silent even as the smaller man pressed gentle kisses to Drake’s face as they lay in bed.  
“You didn’t mean it.”  
“Yes I did, I…” Drake let out a remorseful sigh, “I was trying to claim them for you since you always use that pair. I was attempting to mark them as our territory.” Coby let out a small giggle as he melded his grin to Drake’s stoic frown. “That’s sweet of you.”  
“It’s dangerous.” Coby gave his partner a sad look as he frowned at his little marine’s hands, enveloping them in his own. “I think… I think it’s getting too out of control.”  
“Drake…” He squeezed his hands, “I know you’re worried about this, and if you want…” Coby faltered for a moment, “...We can talk about changing some of our private arrangements. In case you’re worried about losing control,” he purposely left out the part where Drake panicked about ripping his lover to shreds every second of the day.  
“I think we should talk about it; if not at least think about it,” he pulled Coby into his chest so he wouldn’t have to see that frown, “tomorrow.” Coby glanced up at him hopefully, lavender peeking through bright pink strands of mussed hair. “Tomorrow?”  
“Tomorrow.” Coby settled himself in Drake’s embrace with a relieved sigh, attempting to memorize every detail of the massive ‘X’ he was cradled against. He at least had tonight to do so. “Goodnight, Allie.”  
Drake waited until he felt the steady breaths of his marine against his skin. “Goodnight, Pink.”

A puff of air blew Coby’s bangs back.  
“Mmmnn… Drake, close the window.”  
Another puff of air rustled Coby’s bangs. “Eww… Drake, you have morning breath, you’re stinky.”  
A large gust of wind shifted the sheets on Coby’s shoulders, causing the small marine to sleepily roll over and stretch, letting out a tired giggle as another puff of air hit his chest. “Alright, alright I’m—”  
Coby shot out from under the covers, nearly wetting the bed as a large, scaled snout blew another gust of breath at him from beside the bed. “Oh my God, W—” He immediately shut up as the massive beast in front of him let out a deep hiss, haphazardly maneuvering himself in the room. Even with the high ceilings of the captains quarters and the large area of the base, the enormous monster in the middle of the room still had to bend over significantly and carefully rotate on its knees to move around, its long tail doing significant damage on the wall behind it as it scraped against the metal. Coby cringed at the sound of glass shattering as it reached the window. A hollow growl emitted from the beast, and Coby quickly moved from the bed to the corner of the room, jumping on some stray boxes piled in the corner to climb to the monster’s level. God, that’s my monster, isn’t it.  
“Drake—” The dinosaur let out a prolonged roar, clambering its large body to face Coby and fix him with a predatory look. Coby wanted to trust Drake so badly, so badly, but as he cowered on top of the boxes, he really wished someone could hear what was going on and call for help. “Please, calm down,” he whispered, staring at those slitted pupils that were quavering in those golden pools, “Allie, it’s me.” Drake froze, his tail making a terrifying screech from where it stopped on the wall, and his breaths slowing to a relaxed pace. “Yeah, it’s me, Coby. It’s me, you know me,” he forced himself to smile, all too aware of how his teeth were chattering, “you love me, don’t you?”  
Coby regretted that reminder for once, regretted reminding Drake that he was loved by him; because Drake’s immediate reaction was to slam his head against the ceiling, causing the overhead lamp to burst into sparks above him. Coby nearly yelled as Drake trilled in sharp pain before continuing to buck his head into the ceiling above him, and as a stray piece of wood made a concerning crack against his shoulder, tears fell from his eyes. Suddenly, just as quickly as the catastrophe started, it halted.  
Coby opened a single eye, barely able to see the silhouette of Drake through his tears. His partner was frozen once again, letting out fast huffs of breath as his eyes slit thin as paper. It was an emotion that Coby could recognize immediately, one that he’d never thought his superior would ever show: fear. He curled away from Drake as his snout neared dangerously close, but when a harmless gust of air ghosted over him, he cautiously unfurled himself to watch his partner.  
Drake stalled for a moment, seeming to think about what he was doing before he gently nodded his head again. Much to Coby’s amazement, it was apparent that he was doing his best to make his movements small so as to not hit the ceiling. “What… what are you doing?” Drake let out a trill, bobbing his head with more intent behind it, but still carefully controlling his movements. With the way he was moving his neck, he was clearly trying to draw attention to his forehead. “I don’t understand, what—”  
Coby’s eyes focused on two red appendages protruding from Drake’s head, the strange motions Drake was making clearly trying to highlight them. “Your horns, you want to show me your horns,” he blinked in bewilderment, “wow, I was right.” Another trill echoed within the room as Drake shook his head in apparent excitement, and Coby slowly pulled himself closer to the edge of the boxes to reach Drake. “I still don’t understand though, what do you want me to do?” The smaller marine reached an uncertain hand out, his arm trembling in anxious trepidation, “is this… A dominance thing?”  
Placing a light slap onto Drake’s nose, he quickly leapt back as Drake roared in retaliation, swinging his tail behind him and taking out another window. “Okay! Okay, it’s not dominance I—” he let out a screech as Drake attempted to shove his horns forward again with seemingly violent intent. Curling in on himself, he was thankful to hear the sound of yelling from a few buildings over. “I don’t know what you’re doing, Drake,” he pleaded, “your horns aren't supposed to be for combat, so I don’t know what to do—”  
A light lit up in Coby’s head. “Your horns are for show, right? You’re trying to display them for me?” Drake let out a large huff, and Coby took the breath as an affirmation. Shakily folding his palm in, he extended his index fingers and placed them on either side of his head, creating makeshift horns for himself. “Like this, right? You want this?” The enthusiastic nod that Drake gestured towards him made Coby want to giggle through his tears, and he wiggled his fingers back in tandem to mimic Drake.  
“I don’t understand why you’re showing those to me, for someone who was so insistent that not everything was a competition,it can’t be for that reason,” he mused, wagging his fingers as Drake began to bob his head up and down again. “You said they were similar to how birds used extra appendages, right? Like for mating and—”  
Coby paused, his eyes widening and his fingers shooting directly up like antennae. “Are you flirting with me?” His tone was skeptical as he regarded his reptilian lover, and he almost scolded himself internally for suggesting such an outlandish idea. But with the way Drake excitedly bounced on his clawed feet, and bounced his head in a joyous rhythm as he shoved his horns back in Coby’s face, it could be the only explanation.  
“I can’t believe you, you massive fucking nerd. You destroyed,” he gestured his head around the room, not removing his “horns” from the side of his face, “my entire goddamn quarters just to get some dick. You are insane.” Drake let out a small huff as he took a clumsy step forward in the confined space to lave Coby’s entire body with saliva as he trailed a sticky lick from toe to head. Shaking himself off like a dog, Coby spit some stray slobber back onto Drake, who didn’t seem to mind. “You’re lucky I love you, Allie. I’d have turned you into a leather purse by now.”  
Drake pressed his large snout into Coby’s chest, his puffs of breath quickly cooling his saliva and causing his little marine to shudder under the less than pleasant feeling. “I love you, you big lizard.”  
Drake rumbled in kind, and as Coby pressed his lips to the scales above his nose, he heard the metal of the door being scraped open. Helmeppo’s voice rang through the room. “Coby! I heard you yell, I got reports from—HOLY FUCKING SHIT—”  
An explanation never made its way out of Coby, for before he could open his mouth Drake melted into his arms in his original size before vomiting into Coby’s lap and passing out instantaneously. Helmeppo stared at the sight before him, a stray piece of ceiling falling onto the floor and kicking up dust left from the previous debris. Coby awkwardly motioned to the mangled walls and the unconscious man laying precariously atop him. “He’s...Having a rough morning.”  
Helmeppo could do nothing but gape at his friend as he maneuvered their superior from off of himself and changed his pants in the middle of his crumbling room.

“What disease did you tell them I had that caused me to destroy an entire captain’s quarters before passing out for five hours?”  
“Oh y’know, stomach bug and stress or whatever.”  
“A stomach bug? A stomach bug made me shatter your ceiling and dislocate your shoulder?” Drake’s dry tone made Coby laugh despite the dull pain in said shoulder, “you didn’t dislocate it, it’s just a bruise.”  
“A massive bruise.”  
“Still just a bruise,” he pressed a kiss to his partner, who was laying down to “rest” (Drake was honestly fine after he recovered from his unconscious state, but Coby insisted on another day of bedrest). “I’m serious about the stress though. I asked the nurse about it, and he said that stress can affect people’s mental behavior and stuff, which is why your devil fruit’s acting up. It happens to the best of us,” he reassured, stroking through Drake’s ginger locks.  
“What I’m confused about,” he hummed, “is why you’re so stressed. I know our job isn't the easiest, but… Did you need to talk about anything?” Drake sighed and captured Coby’s risk in his grasp, pulling his hand down to press a kiss to the calloused palm. “Nothing, little marine.”  
“Drake,” Coby chided, fixing his partner with a pointed look, “I know we don’t talk about a lot of things, and I know it can be hard, but… I don’t want to talk about sleeping without you.”  
Drake remained silent for a short period of time, the only sounds in the room being him and his little marine’s breaths echoing off of the patched walls. “The first night, when I accidentally scratched you. I think I just became worried, Coby. It made me realize I could hurt you at any given moment, and even though you said that you trusted me, I still—your trust in me doesn’t remove the fact that I still have the ability to kill—” he froze, “—... Hurt you.”  
“Drake, clearly you being stressed is going to hurt me more than you slipping up every once in a while.”  
“But when I slip up-”  
“Hey, I’d rather wake up to a pinprick on my chest than a massive dinosaur literally breathing down my neck.” Coby snickered at Drake’s embarrassed expression, ghosting his lips over his cheek and pressing their scars together like puzzle pieces. “The licking thing was kinda endearing though.”  
“Coby.”  
“Hey, I didn’t say I wanted it again, it’s just cute.” His eyes lit up as he remembered something, “oh! And this precious gift…” Sticking his index fingers straight up, he pressed them to the side of his face and waggled them back and forth as little horns. “How does this make you feel, big guy?” The flaming red spreading across Drake’s face made Coby burst into skeptical laughter. “Oh my God, are you actually into this?”  
“We already established that I cannot control my instincts, and replicating behaviors—”  
“So you’re into it? You think I’m hot?”  
“Little marine-”  
Coby teasingly wiggled his fingers back and forth. “Tell me my horns are sexy, Allie.”  
Being shoved off the bed as he descended in a fit of raucous laughter was worth it, and Drake could practically feel the stress melting off of him as he hid his blushing face in the covers. Even if their main goal was to rid Drake of his instincts, Coby hoped that the flustered feeling he gave Drake as he pressed his makeshift horns to Drake’s forehead never went away.

**Author's Note:**

> @TricksterMelon pulled me into DraCoby hype after seeing their art on Twitter :,)  
> They’re so sweet tho, so I had to gift this to them lol


End file.
